Aphrodite's Curse
by lexiethebug
Summary: Two years after Gaea's defeat, Nico is being overcome by the insanity children of Hades are famous for. With Percy turning a blind eye to the cruelty of some of the campers, and Annabeth and his newly announced engagement, Nico is left in a sea of misery. Can he float long enough for someone to save him or will he drown? Or will he do something else entirely?
1. Chapter 1

AN: So this is my first published story. I'm thinking it's going to be a one-shot but there's an equal possibility that I will add on, actually that's probably more likely. It'll probably just be awhile before I add anything more if I do. Anywho, this popped into my head after BoO. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I making money off of the PJO world, all the credit for that lovely universe goes to Rick Riordan & associates.

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><p>"We're getting married!"<p>

Those words washed over Nico as everything dimmed to a pitch black. Oh, he knew he'd never stood a chance. Percy was a Hero: confident, kind, selfless. Nico was the scrawny 16 year old son of Hades, a bitter boy from the 1930's, out of his time with serious self-esteem issues even two years after defeating Gaea. But Percy tried so hard to be his friend, and it just made loving him _so much worse_. He couldn't breathe. He wanted to run. Run away and never look back. He had to get awaygetawaygetaw-

Everything came back in a rush, leaving Nico nauseous. All the campers were cheering for the couple standing in front of the campfire, who were both grinning. Percy had his arm slung around Annabeth's shoulder, and he watched them turn into each other and kiss. A fleeting kiss- barely a brush of lips- but Nico had to keep himself from throwing up as a stronger wave of nausea rushed over him.

He could see a face frowning at him from across the fire. Jason was the only one not clapping besides him. Nico tried to send him a reassuring smile, but he knew it came out as a grimace. Thankfully, Jason couldn't keep his attention on Nico, because Percy was talking to him about being the Best Man and Jason was grinning and clapping Percy on the shoulder and sending worried glances Nico's way.

Nico's attention was focused solely on Percy, taking in his happy grin and bright eyes, and he knew he couldn't stand it for a moment longer. He turned and walked away, starting towards his cabin. A minute later he heard someone running after him and prepared himself to tell Jason he was fine and everything was fine and why wouldn't it be fine? But the person who grabbed his shoulder and spun him around was not Jason. It was Percy.

Nico plastered a grin on for him, still unwilling to ruin Percy's happiness even if it was tearing him up inside. By now there was a mantra going round and round his head. Getawaygetawaygetawaygetaway. But he had to keep focused, just long enough to please Percy and then he could run. Run away and try to forget who he was and how much the Fates hated him.

"Hey Nico! Why're you running off so soon? The party's just getting started!"

Gods, that smile, those eyes, this _perfect man in front of him._ He could feel sandpaper scraping at the bits of stone that remained of his heart. He smiled at the oblivious Percy, knowing he wouldn't notice the turmoil in his eyes. "You know parties have never been my thing Percy." _Antisocial_, is what they said; more like shunned. No one wanted to socialize with death boy.

Percy's smile faltered a bit. Nico knew he knew the truth, but didn't want to believe the other campers could be so terrible, so he ignored it. Nico's heart had begun crumbling the day he realized Percy would rather turn a blind eye. '_Nobody wants you.'_ The voices of the dead whispered in his mind. Nico mentally snarled back at them.

"Yea well," Percy shuffled his feet awkwardly, "If you just hung around, I'm sure you'd find someone to-"

"You know that isn't going to happen." Nico cut him off, eyes a bit colder and smile non-existent. It had been strained in the first place anyway. The dead were getting louder, and he could've sworn he heard the _scrapescrapescrape_ of sandpaper speeding up a bit.

Percy frowned at him before relenting, "Alright I guess, if you're sure. I'll see you tomorrow 'kay?"

_Getawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetaway- "_Sure Percy, have fun; and congratulations." Nico couldn't believe he got the words out without choking or falling in a sobbing heap. But the scraping got faster, so he knew he'd done it.

Percy nodded and smiled before turning around and jogging back up to the campfire. Nico watched him go before turning and continuing on the way to his cabin. The voices wouldn't shut up and he knew he needed to get to a safe place before he collapsed. He forced himself to jog the rest of the way.

The moment he shut the door he stumbled, using the last of his will to fall on a bed instead of the floor. The voices were getting louder. '_Getawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetaway.' –Scrapescrapescrapescrape.- 'Noonewantsyou.' 'Come to us Your Majesty. You're in pain, letusfixyouletushealyou.'_

The son of Hades didn't even realize he was screaming "_SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!", _a continuous mantra he couldn't hear, his mind washing out any other noise he might have heard. He lay there for what seemed like eternity. Then he was being shaken roughly, catching a glimpse of blonde hair before the shock of electricity traveled through his body. The voices quieted, but he could still hear them, the pain was still there. _Scrapescrapescrape_. He slowly became aware of his body again, and realized he was curled up in the fetal position with his hands clamped over his ears. Tentatively, he uncurled himself and almost groaned at how stiff he was. He'd been screaming for at least an hour.

"Nico?" He heard a familiar voice above him laced with worry, "Nico, are you alright? I'm so sorry I couldn't come sooner. I couldn't escape Piper and Annabe-"

"Jason," Nico interrupted, flinching at how raw his throat was, '_Definitely more than an hour then.'_ He mused. "Don't worry about it, how long was I out?" Judging from the son of Zeus' grim look, it was a _really_ long time.

"Three hours, give or take." Jason muttered. He turned a concerned gaze onto him, "Nico they're getting worse. This is the longest one you've had; I really think we should talk to Chiron about this."

Nico shook his head, "No, Chiron has seen this happen before. He'll probably just say something about being surprised at how long I lasted. We both know there isn't a way to fix this." '_Not one you would approve of anyway.'_ He finished off in his mind. Sighing, he stretched a bit more, working out the kinks in his body. "I'm fine now Jason, They're quiet again." "_Liar,"_ one of the voices giggled, "_liarliarliar." "_We can talk about this tomorrow; I can probably sleep for a bit right now if I try."

Jason relented, as Nico knew he would. He was always getting after Nico for how much sleep he got, which was next to none. Sighing wearily, Jason gave him a one-armed hug before standing, "Alright, I'll see you in the morning and we can try to figure something out." He gave Nico a reassuring smile before turning and walking out, back to his girlfriend and the party.

Nico watched him go regretfully. He didn't want the last memory Jason had of him be of Nico deceiving him, but there was no other way. Jason would stop him; well, he would try to anyway. Forcing himself to stop thinking about it, he dragged himself up. Grabbing his backpack, he shoved all the things he thought he would need; his daggers, a change of clothes, his sword, and -_scrapescrapescrapescrapescrape- _his Hades figurine. '_Bianca, I'm so sorry.'_ He viciously stomped that thought away. The voices got louder.

Moving to a table next to the couch, Nico grabbed a pen and piece of paper.

_Jason, Hazel,_

_ I'm sorry, I couldn't take the voices anymore, especially not with the engagement. I found a way that might stop them, but even if it works I won't return. I don't know what will happen, and so many things can go wrong; but Hazel, I know you'll be able to tell if I'm dead. If I die, you'll already know by the time you find this letter. If I don't, well, try to take comfort in knowing I'm alive. I love you both, and I'm sorry I couldn't be the person you deserved for me to be._ _Sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt.*_

_ Ave atque vale,*_

_ Nico._

The voices were getting louder. Nico folded the paper neatly, setting it gently on the table. He felt an odd sense of attachment to the last words his friends would ever get from him. Grabbing his bag, he started to make his way to the shadow in the corner by the window, and made the mistake of glancing outside. Nico choked; there was Annabeth and Percy, kissing. Percy had Annabeth pressed against the wall, her arms pinned above her head with their bodies pressed together, looking for the entire world the perfect couple that they were.

_SCRAPESCRAPESCRAPESCRAPECRACK! _Nico felt the remainder of his heart break again. His mind was clouded with despair, the blood in his veins sluggish, weighed down with his misery. He fell into the shadows, willing them to take him to his salvation. Subconsciously, he navigated the shadows, too lost in his mind to ensure he landed in the right spot. The voices were screaming at him, clamoring to help him, to heal him. His soul was shredded, his lungs turned to stone. He couldn't breathe, couldn't breathe, couldn't brea-

Nico stumbled out of the shadows, falling to his knees in front of a rushing river of white. He sucked in a great amount of air, his mind swamped with images of Annabeth and Percy: announcing their marriage, making out against the side of the Poseidon cabin, feeding each other food on a picnic on the beach; and he screamed. Had any monster or mortal been near him, they would have broken down, sobbing. He screamed, his powers flooding the sound with his despair and hopelessness, making it sound inhuman, like that of a dying animal but _more_. It was a talent of Hades' kids, to be able to share any negative emotion. Beyond the river, he could see Elysium, and saw several blissful ghosts turn and rush towards him at his appearance. "_Let us help you! We can heal you! Heal your soul!" _

Nico didn't pay attention them, to enwrapped in his desolation to care about the spirits gathering on the other side, unable to cross the river. He snorted at the thought that flew through his mind, '_Why did the demigod cross the river? To get to the other side. What I'm doing is basically suicide, if you look at it the right way. Gods, I am going insane.'_

The voices weren't in his head anymore; they were across from him, begging him to let them help their Prince. But the _crunch_ of the remains of his heart, of his soul, being crushed was still there. The pain was still hitching a ride on his blood cells, spreading the fire throughout his veins. He broke down, sobbing and screaming his misery, making the ghosts wail louder.

A few minutes later, Nico collected himself enough to take in his surroundings. He'd made it to his destination, the River Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, his only hope for peace. Ignoring the tears still streaming down his face and the sobs still spilling from his mouth, he crawled towards the river, desperate to forget, to feel something other than despair and to be able to think again. He slipped on the rocks on the edge of the river, ignoring the blood spilling from the cuts on his hands and knees; too desperate to forget to care. Forgetforgetforget.

He used the last of his strength to haul himself to the very edge. He pushed, falling for less than a second. The ghosts wailed louder, the fire burned hotter, images of Annabeth and Percy flashed through his mind: the kisses, the announcement, the love; love that would never ever be his.

Splash! The river embraced him , his mind went blank, and Nico di Angelo was no more.

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><p>*"These are the tears of things, and our mortality cuts to the heart." - By Virgil, from the Aeneid.<p>

*Hail and be well

So there it is. I thought of this when I felt pretty melancholy and was thinking of how love can be a curse and Nico and how Hades' kids have a tendency to lose their minds. Again, I might add to this story. Kinda like a 'so this is the aftermath'. I've already got a pretty good idea for that if I go that way, but if anyone's got suggestions I'd love to hear them. Constructive criticism is welcome! But if you're being a jerk just for kicks... For Shame! So I hope you liked the story (depressing as it is), and tell me you're (positive) opinions and ideas?


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** So I decided to see where this goes. Honestly it was only going to be a one-shot but it has too much potential to leave alone. Still, updates are likely to be slow in coming. You have been warned.

Disclaimer: Still doesn't belong to me. That honor goes to Rick Riordan.

Janus past is pessimistic, Janus future is optimistic.

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><p><span><strong>Janus POV<strong>

Janus watched silently as the young son of Hades broke down on the side of the river. They had considered interfering, laying out the choices, but they knew there were only two options, and they were rather too fond of the demigod to lead him to his Ending. For the young man had only two options, create for himself a new Beginning or be driven to an early Ending. It was really no wonder they had been drawn here. Such an important decision for the child they had met and taken a liking to in the Labyrinth. Such a pity it had come to this.

Janus Future was optimistic about this doorway, certain that the Ghost King would be able to have the life that was denied him before. Janus Past was certain it would break the boy, especially since he would not remember his past mistakes to be able to learn from them. Alas, Past didn't wish for the demigod to die yet either, so he kept his silence.

They watched as the demigod dragged himself into the river. A moment later Janus Past sighed, "I suppose we should drag him out before he drowns."

Janus Future laughed, "Always the pessimistic one Past, but yes, I suppose we should before this Door closes."

The two faced god of choices moved towards the river. They knelt along the bank, sticking a hand into the river to snatch the edge of Hades' son's jacket before he could float past. With a sharp tug, Nico was lying on the bank next to them, coughing weakly to dislodge the water in his throat. Once he had finished coughing, Janus touched his forehead, and with a muttered, "sleep," the demigod was passed out; sleeping peacefully for what Past knew was the first time in quite a while.

The abrupt silence of the wailing souls across the river was the only warning Janus had before they had a very angry Lord of the Underworld in front of them. Hades was furious, and Janus had no desire to be the ones that that anger was taken out on. Almost instantly, Janus was kneeling before Hades, attempting to appease him long enough for them to direct him towards a different outlet for his anger.

"**JANUS, EXPLAIN THIS!"** Hades voice boomed across the Underworld, causing the lingering souls in Elysium to scatter and making Cerberus cower in fear. Janus almost fell over; the ground was shaking so violently that up on top the mortals and Roman demigods were panicking. The mortals trying to save people from crumbling buildings that were unfortunate enough to be in the way of a fault line, the demigods wondering what could have possibly made Pluto this angry and whether or not they were facing another war.

Janus stayed kneeling, tilting their faces downwards and leaving one eye each to observe the god's stormy face. "Lord Hades," Future started, "your son has chosen to forget his life to rid himself of his pain. I can assure you this was the better path."

Past took over, fully aware Hades would not believe them unless they both agreed on it; a sensible decision with Future's habit for lying when he didn't approve of something. "Future speaks the truth; the only other option was death."

They watched as Hades seemed to reign in his anger, but they knew it was still there, lurking, waiting for the one responsible until it showed again. After all, it was no secret amongst the gods that Hades was quite fond of this son, no matter how horribly he showed it. When he spoke again the anger was still present, but it was greatly reduced, "Past, why did my son do this?"

Past hesitated for a moment before answering; he was certain someone was going to be punished for this yet uncertain of whose fault it truly was. "After Tartarus and being locked in a jar, Nico was less than sane, but not quite insane. He would have been fine with time if not for having to watch Poseidon's son, Percy Jackson, progress his relationship with Annabeth Chase. It would seem he was in love with him."

Hades' facial expression grew stormier, which, surprisingly, was possible, before he sighed and looked down to his son sadly. His voice was weary when he spoke, "I suppose I should thank you for not trying to convince him to take the other path. Although he will always be welcome in my palace, I still hope Nico may be able to live a decent life."

Future spoke up, "We are quite fond of him Lord Hades. He managed to make a lasting impression on us when we met in the Labyrinth, and several times after."

Hades hummed a bit at that, expression contemplative, eyes not leaving his son's sleeping form. "Leave my domain now Janus, I must decide what to do with my son." Without another word, Hades picked Nico up and flashed away, leaving Janus behind.

Future grinned, "I do so look forward to watching how these next few years play out, don't you Past?"

Past grumbled, "I wouldn't know, I cannot see what you do, Future." He replied snidely. Future just laughed and with a flash of light they were gone, off to torment some indecisive soul.

**Hades POV**

Hades laid his son in his bed, sitting on the edge and brushing his son's hair with his fingers. He had been consulting with the managers of the Fields of Punishment about expanding the space when he sensed his son enter his realm. He had ignored it, figuring his son was coming to speak with him about one thing or another, but then he heard his son's screams. They had been heard across the Underworld, and for a split second, he had felt everything in the Underworld pause. The managers had instantly been dismissed, and Hades had spent a few precious moments locating his son's soul. When he realized Nico was next to the Lethe, he instantly flashed to the riverbank only to find Janus hovering over his sleeping son. There he had sensed the extent of the damage upon Nico's soul, and he demanded an explanation from Janus. An explanation he was rather displeased about. Hades swore that Poseidon's spawn would pay for the damage he had inflicted on his son. That the sea spawn hadn't understood the extent of the damage done only made him guiltier in Hades' eyes.

He ran his hand through hair exactly like Marie's, contemplating what he should do before deciding his son would get to choose, even if he no longer had his memory. That decision made, he placed his palm upon Nico's forehead muttering, "Wake."

When Nico woke, his expression was one of confusion, as if he was trying to remember something. He spotted Hades and inspected him for a moment, still obviously confused, before hesitantly saying, "Father?"

Hades smiled at his son. It was a little known fact, but the Lethe effected demigods differently. If the demigod was still alive at the time, he/she could still recall vague memories if they were in a familiar place. They might distantly recognize a face or a name, possibly an event if it was influential enough. It wasn't enough for the demigod to return to the life they had before, but it was enough for the demigod to usually piece together how they had ended up in the Lethe; or in Nico's case, why he had ended up there. "Nico," He didn't bother hiding the sadness in his voice. Nico's brow furrowed as he sat up.

"Where am I? Why can't I remember anything?"

Hades sighed wearily, "You wished to forget your life, so you jumped in the River Lethe. Luckily it has a different effect on demigods. Tell me, what do you remember of your previous life?"

Nico frowned in concentration for a moment, and then grimaced, "I can remember feeling despair and desperation. Why, I don't know. I know that you're my father, but I can't remember your name. There's a dog, a really big dog, but I don't remember her name, but I know it's a her. I can remember something about a place called Tartarus and a woman named Akhlys, then there's something about seeds. That's it."

The Lord of the Underworld sighed sadly again at the list of memories. Of course, if his son returned to the surface, he was guaranteed to remember more; specifically a certain son of Poseidon. So Hades spent the next few hours explaining about the gods, how mortals didn't know of them outside of myth, how there were two great wars that he had been in that had taken a great toll on his mind, and finishing with the insanity common in his children that would have aided the problem.

His son summed it up nicely, "So I went insane from memories and bathed in the Lethe to solve the problem?"

"Essentially, yes." He smiled at his child, happy that he was taking this so well and that his explanation hadn't set off anymore memories. "I have come up with three possible options that you may choose from. First, you could return to Camp now, but this would likely cause more of your memories to return. Second, I could place you in a special hotel that warps time. You could spend a month there and emerge a hundred years later. Third, I could de-age you to that of an infant, probably a year old. At 10 you would return to Camp, but at that time enough should have changed that only a few, if any, memories would return."

Hades waited while his son thought it over. He was unprepared for the question Nico asked, "Why couldn't I just stay here? I could help you. I'm sure the Underworld has issues of its own."

He gave his son another smile, though this one was sad and a bit wistful. "My children do not have a history of having good lives," he confessed, "but I hope you would be the exception. I do not believe working with the dead would qualify as a good life."

Nico was silent for several moments before he spoke again, his voice lacking its earlier confusion but still filled with uncertainty, "I don't want to go back to Camp right away when I obviously had good reasons to leave; and for some reason the hotel idea gives me a bad feeling. I choose the de-ageing, since I can't just stay here." His son glanced at him quickly under his bangs, as if looking for approval.

Hades gave him another smile with a passing thought that he hadn't smiled so much in one day in a while. His cheeks were starting to ache a bit. "In that case, I will leave you with one of my old mortal lovers. He always wanted a child. He will be able to prepare you for the life of a demigod, seeing as he is a legacy of Nemesis himself. As for this memory, you will grow up with it and it will never fade, but you won't recall it until you are of an age when you can understand it."

His son nodded his agreement and Hades returned him to sleep. Then he went to work. Everyone knew his domain was death, but they often forgot he also controlled part of life: rebirth. He controlled whether or not a soul was reborn, as well as the process of rebirth. Thus, he was able to de-age his son's mind and body. He left his soul alone, certain that once Nico had healed it, albeit subconsciously, his son would be better prepared for all the grief and strife he would encounter.

Half an hour later Hades picked up a one year old Nico di Angelo. He looked down upon his son's sleeping face, eyes turning sad at the memories of Marie introducing him to his son the first time around. Marie would be disappointed with him if she knew the life their son had led, but Hades was determined to make up for it this time around. Clearing the memories from his mind, Hades flashed to his old lover's doorstep and knocked.


	3. Chapter 3

**An: **So, here it is! Happy Christmas, dear readers. Credit to asknicoandpercy from Tumblr for helping me out with the flashback scene. They've got an awesome blog, so check it out! Anywho, here's the story, I hope you enjoy.

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><p><span>Chapter 3:<span>

Michael Moore had been having a pretty normal day. He'd gotten up, done his work out, went to give a lecture on the Greek/Roman gods to his class at the University of California, came home, and had a glass of wine. A normal day, that is until he heard the knock on his door.

Michael hadn't seen Hades for 6 years, since before the titans swept across the country. He knew about the last two wars, being a legacy, and knew the Lord of the Underworld was quite busy. Meaning he never expected to see the god ever again. Yet, here he was, with Hades at his doorstep holding a baby boy.

To say he was surprised would be an understatement; shocked, baffled, astonished, startled, and, if he wasn't lying to himself, a little bitter. These all described his feelings to seeing his old lover, who obviously thought he could just pop-out of the woodwork with a baby. Of course. He was a god, after all.

It only took him a moment to get over his shock, and soon he was sitting in his favorite chair drinking coffee with a god holding a baby resting regally on the couch across from him. No one had said anything, and Michael was getting sick of it. So he threw caution to the wind and leaned forward, staring intently at his old lover, "Why are you here?"

"This is my son, Nico di Angelo." Hades spoke softly, gesturing to the sleeping child. "He decided to bathe in the River Lethe to rid himself of his memories of the wars and Tartarus. I de-aged his body and mind so he might be able to live the life he never had. I was hoping you would consent to raising him, knowing how much you always wanted a child."

Michael noticed small traces of sadness in the god's face. It was what made him special; he could read Hades' emotions better than most others. Then he registered the name, and almost spit out his coffee. "Nico di Angelo?" he stared at Hades incredulously, "You want me to raise Nico di Angelo, a Nico di Angelo who has no memory of his past? He's a legend among the Romans!"

The Lord of the Underworld nodded, "Yes, and I would like you to bring him to Camp Jupiter when he turns 10. If you accept, of course."

The legacy of Nemesis raised his hands in a 'wait just a freaking second' gesture, "But won't people recognize him? Especially in his teens! Wouldn't that defeat the purpose?"

The god smirked, an expression that threw him completely off guard, "Do not worry about people recognizing him. Only four people will remember him; three Romans and yourself, along with whatever he himself remembers. I will make sure of that. You're main concern would be the memories, should more return. I already asked him what he remembered prior to de-aging him, and he could still remember bits of Tartarus. Luckily, he did not feel the emotions attached to these specific memories, though he did feel emotions he couldn't explain." His tone ended on a pondering note, and Michael could only stare.

First, his old lover shows up, then asks him to take in a baby (a famous baby no less!), and now he's telling him Nico could still remember some things despite bathing in the Lethe? He shuddered, wondering what kind of memory left a mark so deep even the Lethe could not remove it. Pushing away those unpleasant thoughts, he considered the offer. He really did want a child, that hadn't changed. And he'd always wanted to have _Hades'_ child; had actually thought it would be possible for a while, with his lover being a god and all that, but it turned out it wasn't. Not with a mortal anyway. This way, he would have a child of Hades, only in a different way than he had wanted. Which, if he thought about it, wasn't really an issue.

No, the emotional aspects were all good, but could he even afford to have a baby? He voiced his thought. "What about money?" He inquired, "I would love to raise him as my son, but I'm just a professor, I don't really make all that much."

Hades looked vaguely insulted, "Are you forgetting that I am the god of the dead _and_ riches?"

Michael flushed, his cheeks reddening slightly, and admitted to himself that, _yes_, that had been a stupid question. Then he perked up, realizing he wouldn't have to worry about finances, and he really wanted a child. "I'll do it! I'd love to raise little Nico and help him with any memory problems that might occur."

Hades graced him with a smile; a small one, of course, but a smile nonetheless. He could count how many times the god had smiled at him, actually smiled at him, on one hand. "Then I will leave you a reasonable amount of money in your account once a month and I will be checking on him at least once a year. If you ever need my help, don't hesitate to ask."

He nodded, surprised at the offer of help. Having the god of the dead on your beck and call was never heard of, yet here he was. Those three words were starting to really annoy him. Standing, he accepted the child when he was passed to him, and he couldn't help but coo at him. Michael could see Hades in him, but there was an obvious presence of someone else in the olive skin (pale as it was) and the shape of his lips, which were much fuller than his father's.

Michael became aware of Hades watching them, and realized he was still smiling. The legacy flushed; despite having not seen him for several years, he was still very much attracted to the god and hadn't had any type of serious relationship with anyone else. Hades smirked at him, obviously noticing the effect he had on him, and he knew his face must look like a tomato.

Then another thought occurred to him, "Wait, where should I place him? The second bedroom is filled with junk."

"Would you mind too terribly much if that junk disappeared?" Hades questioned. Michael shook his head and the god snapped his fingers, "Good, you'll find a nursery there now. It should be fitting for a child of mine, though I think you might disagree it's fitting for a child in general. I'll see you soon Michael." He crossed the little space between them, placing a kiss on Nico's forehead, and then shocking Michael by brushing his lips across his cheek before disappearing.

Michael stood in shock for a few moments with one hand touching his cheek before smiling down at the child in his arms and telling him, "Let no one tell you Hades does not care for his children and lovers when he is probably the one who cares the most."

The baby just shifted in his sleep, gurgling a little. He laughed softly and headed towards the new nursery. Opening the door, he repressed a shriek; really he should have known. The room was black, with a few highlights of white and silver around the room, and the furniture was all made of what looked like bone. The bars on the crib were _actual_ finger bones that looked like they'd been melted together. He sighed, muttering spitefully under his breath, and decided he would have to go shopping tomorrow.

In New York, the god of the dead snickered; scaring several little Godlings and causing them to scatter in fear of whatever sinister thing had made him laugh.

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><p><strong><span>3 year old Nico<span>**

Michael watched his adopted son carefully, as he always did whenever they were outside the house. There hadn't been a monster attack yet, but he suspected that was Hades doing. He didn't think their luck would hold out much longer since Nico knew who and what his father was. The last two years had been great, but Michael hadn't been able to lie to Nico about his father, especially since they saw him once a year. So Nico had grown up with bedtime stories about the Greeks and the Romans and the gods and the knowledge that they were real. Nico didn't really understand exactly what that meant, but he was still young so no one would think it funny that a toddler rambled about 'fictional' beings.

He realized he couldn't see Nico anymore right before someone started screeching. Michael heard something about a fox, vaguely registering it as he searched for Nico. Then he saw it. There was a red-haired woman with one bronze leg and one donkey leg cornering the toddler. Nico had a serious expression on his face, as if he knew exactly what that monster was. Michael swore, there was no way the three year old would be able to take an empousa. He pushed against the crowd of mothers and children running away, hoping to reach his son in time. He watched the monster lunge at Nico, whose little hands raised as if to bat it away.

Shadows sprung from the ground, wrapping around the creature. Nico squeezed his chubby hands into fists, the shadows tightened, the monster convulsed, and then there was only a pile of golden dust as evidence that the creature had been there at all. Michael stared at his son in awe, he knew Nico had been important in his last life, but he hadn't known just how powerful he was. Now he had a bit of a better idea.

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><p><strong><span>5 year old Nico<span>**

"Dad!" Nico ran up to his father, the one he only saw once a year, jumping on the god. "Daddy said you got me a present! What is it?! Can I see?!"

Hades chuckled, scooping him up in a hug before placing him back down. Nico kept his eyes glued on the hand that had disappeared into his cloak. "Of course you can. Happy Birthday." The hand withdrew, and Nico gasped. His father was holding a pitch black sword. "I had Hecate enchant it so that it would change size according to you. As you get older it will change size so it is always the right balance."

Nico reached out and grabbed hold of the sword's handle, watching as the Stygian iron shrunk to fit his small stature. He frowned, wondering how he knew what it was made of, but shrugged it off. Then he grinned from ear to ear, he could learn swordplay now! The five-year old carefully set the sword on the floor before jumping his dad again. Hades smiled fondly down at him and Nico grinned back. He started to wriggle until his father set him down, and then started shouting, "Dad! Father's here! He got me a sword!"

Hearing a frustrated groan from the kitchen, Nico snickered, grabbed his sword, and hurried into the kitchen to show his dad with Hades following him. "Dad when can I start learning how to fight the ugly monsters?"

Michael smiled down at him, "I'll start teaching you on the weekends for now. When you're older we'll practice after school too." His expression became serious, "From now on, you must always have that sword with you, okay?" Nico nodded, trying to look serious too. His dad looked amused, so he guessed he failed. "Now, how about you open my present and then we'll have some dinner and cake?"

Nico nodded furiously, and his dad took out a small box wrapped in black with silver ribbon. The five-year old ripped it open and looked curiously at his gifts. Taking them out, he revealed a card deck labeled 'Mythomagic' and a small, beat up black figurine. Small gold letters on the bottom named the statue as Hades. Confused, he looked over to his father, "This doesn't look like you, except for the black robes."

His father smiled a sad smile at him, "This was yours Before. You took it with you, so I guess it had some sort of sentimental value."

Nico nodded, he knew he had a life before this one, a Before. He wasn't sure why he chose to forget it; only that he would know more when he was old enough to understand. He hoped it was soon, he really wanted to know why sometimes he knew things he shouldn't, like how to speak Italian. The small boy shook away the thoughts and was quickly distracted with food and cake. Birthdays always were his favorite day of the year, because he got to spend it with both his fathers.

* * *

><p><strong><span>7 year old Nico<span>**

Nico was distracted, too excited for his birthday today and seeing his father again to notice the guy who was following him. He did notice when the guy jumped him from behind and tried to snap his neck with his pincers. Vaguely registering the pain in his neck, he whirled around and quickly took in the monster's crab-like hands, red skin, and beady black eyes. '_A son of Karkinos,' _he realized. Nico withdrew his sword and attacked. The fight was short and a few moments later there was a pile of gold dust lying in front of him.

Sighing, he sheathed his sword, wincing when the wound on his neck made itself known. He touched it for a moment and looked at his hand, grimacing when he saw the blood. Nico flipped the hood of his black jacket up to hide the wound and hurried home. Walking in, he saw his dad first. Smiling, he flipped his hood down and spoke in a voice that was overly cheerful, "Hi Dad! I need some ambrosia. Is father here yet?"

His dad looked up when he spoke and Nico watched his eyes widen comically when he saw the wound. When his words finally registered he just rolled his eyes and sighed before beckoning him over. "Come on, Nico. Let's get that healed before your father comes." The young demigod followed his dad to the study, where he was told to sit while he studied the wound. Finally he was handed a piece of ambrosia. Munching on it, Nico once again wondered what it was that he tasted. He figured it was from Before, and it tasted home-made, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't figure out what it was.

He watched, fascinated, as his skin knitted itself back together, only leaving behind a very thin scar nearly indistinguishable from the others. Hopping up, he was about to leave when Dad's stern voice stopped him, "I know you're excited to see your father Nico, but you can't let your guard down, especially as you grow older. We don't need a repeat of last year."

Nico flinched at the reminder; he had almost died that day because of his arrogance. Over a year later, he still didn't know what his six year old self was thinking, trying to take on two dracaenae by himself. His voice was somber as he responded, "I know, Dad. It won't happen again."

He felt a hand on his shoulder and was turned around to see the smiling face of his dad, "I'm sure," he said teasingly, "but for now let's go wait for your father." With that, he walked out of the room, a slightly less subdued birthday boy following him.

Nico immediately saw his father when he entered the living room. Grinning, he ran up to him, giving him a hug before swiftly letting him go. His father smiled down at him and ruffled his hair, making him fidget. Shaking off the hand, Nico questioned him, "What did you get me this year Father?" He loved his father's gifts, the year before he'd gotten a pair of daggers that he wasn't allowed to use yet. When he was four he was given one of Cerberus and Mrs. O'Leary's pups. The one he'd been given only had two heads, but they had three tails. Nico had named them Tyche and Fortuna because they had killed a monster the day after his birthday during an attack. He still believed them to be the luckiest creature on earth despite his dad's protest.

Father knelt down next to him and said sternly, "Now Nico, if you keep that up I might just not give you your gift. Patience is a virtue." Upon seeing his ashen expression, Hades continued quickly, "Not to worry, your present is outside in the backyard."

Nico perked up and dashed out of their little home. Stepping outside, he gave a shriek of joy at the sight that met him. He ran forward, throwing his arms around the skeletal horse. The horse whinnied and rubbed its head against his back. Hearing footsteps behind him, the demigod peered over his shoulder to see his father and dad watching him with small smiles on their faces. Turning his attention back to his horse, Nico inspected the animal. The horse had great leathery wings, white eyes, and a skeletal body that had a thin layer of black skin over it. Staring into the blank eyes, Nico was consumed with curiosity, "What are you?" he asked quietly.

"_I am called a thestral, young prince_."

Nico gasped, stepping back in shock at the voice in his head. Looking at it cautiously, he questioned it, "Was that you? How can you speak to me? I thought only kids of Poseidon could talk with their horses."

The horse snorted in what Nico thought was indignation, "_Do not insult me young prince. I am not a horse. As for how I am able to speak with you, I am a servant of Thanatos. We thestrals help him to track down rogue spirits. We are able to speak with all children of Hades because of our link with death."_

"Oh," Nico blinked, tilting his head to the side in contemplation, "What exactly are thestrals?"

_"Those of us with wings used to be pegasi. After death, we are given a choice to be reborn or to serve as Thanatos' servants. If we choose the latter Thanatos Turns us into thestrals."_

"You said after death, so… do you remember your life before Turning?"

_"Yes, though we do not remember much. I was recently turned five years ago. Your father chose me for you because of my relationship with you Before."_

Nico's curiosity spiked at this, "What do you mean, our relationship? Pegasi hate me."

_"Normally yes, but you were a friend of my former Lord and he ordered me to allow you to ride me. Forgive me young prince, I cannot say more."_

He reigned in his disappointment; he had hoped to find out more about his life, "Can you at least tell me your name, or what it used to be?"

The thestral paused and contemplated for a moment before nodding, "_My name used to be Blackjack young prince, but now it is up to you to name me."_

Nico thought for a moment about renaming his thestral Blackjack, but it just didn't seem to fit. And it seemed a bit cruel to him to remind the thestral about his past life every time he called on him. He hummed, pondering the choices before he finally chose. "Alkippe," He announced, "That'll be your name."

Alkippe gave a horse-like snort, _"Mighty horse, young prince? Must you really?"_ Nico smirked at Alkippe, who neighed in exasperation. It had only been a few minutes and already the young prince was teasing him.

A hand landed on Nico's shoulder turning him around to see his father kneeling in front of him, "Now Nico, this is only part of your present. You see, being a thestral, Alkippe is able to easily travel to the Underworld. For the next few years, his job is going to be bringing you to my palace once a month so I can begin teaching you how to use your demigod powers." Hades serious tone became stern, "I don't want you to ever use your powers unless I've helped you. It can be very dangerous, and could kill you if you did something wrong, alright?"

A smiling Nico nodded earnestly, "Thank you Father! I promise I won't do anything you haven't approved of!" The rest of the day was spent with an ecstatic Nico spending time with his entire family on that one special day of the year.

* * *

><p><strong><span>9 year old Nico<span>**

Nico stumbled to the side, dodging the black fire that had been aimed at him. His father stood on the other side of the Throne room throwing balls of fire at his son. Nico dodged side to side for another few minutes before his father stopped attacking him, calling out coolly, "Nico, you need to conjure a wall of stone. I know it's difficult, but I know you can do it. You were able to do it Before, so you should be able to do it now."

The demigod rolled his eyes and flopped onto the floor. "I know father. If I could just remember-!" He broke off, throwing his arms up in frustration. His father stared at him sternly until he couldn't take it anymore. He always was creeped out by those stares. Reluctantly, he pulled himself up into a battle stance, squatting slightly. When another black ball of fire shot at him he quickly pranced away. He concentrated on the earth and how it felt beneath his feet while dodging another three fire balls. Then he felt it. It was vibrating, trapped in a still form yet overflowing with energy. Grabbing onto this energy, he mentally pulled and pulled and _pulled._ There was a rumbling sound and then a _boom!_

Nico looked up and stared at the black wall of earth. He grinned, he had done it! Before he could celebrate his head burst into pain. He cried out, collapsing onto the floor, clutching his head and curling into the fetal position. It felt like someone was splitting his brain open, revealing everything there for the world to see; all his thoughts, feelings, memori-. Nico slumped to the floor unconscious.

* * *

><p>Nico looked around, trying to see anything in the void of his mind. He could still feel the pain, but it had lessened to a sharp throb every few moments. '<em>Where….. am….. I?'<em> he wondered. The answer came to him slowly, as if it was crawling through a sea of mush. _'Oh…, I must… be asleep.'_ He tried to concentrate, but everything seemed to slip away from his groggy mind.

He was unaware of how much time had passed when light suddenly surrounded him. Blinking away some of the grogginess, he watched a host of memories flash in front of him.

_"Child of Hades, what more could I do to you? You are perfect! So much sorrow and pain!" A skeletal woman covered in dust, Akhlys. Misery._

_"You mean you don't trust me anymore." A dark haired boy with sea green eyes. Self-loathing._

_He was falling, falling for so long. It was so dark. Terror._

_An olive skinned, dark-haired girl wearing a silver parka with a bow on her back. Bianca. Betrayal._

_"I want you to be an exception."_

_A white river. Agony. Acceptance._

_"-will never fade, but you won't recall it until you are of an age when you can understand it." Hope._

_A forge, he was hammering away at a length of Stygian iron. Desperation._

_"-to save the rest of us. I told her not to. But she-" "You promised! I shouldn't have trusted you." Despair._

_A jar, a handful of seeds, a voice taunting him, insanity, it was dark, always dark. Fear._

It finally stopped. Nico drifted back into oblivion.

* * *

><p>When Nico came to, he was in a dark room. He recognized the skeletal furniture and obsidian walls; he was still in his father's palace. Groaning, he started to lift himself up when a skeletal hand pushed him back. He flopped back down, glaring at the nurse from WWI. She was his father's favorite healer for some reason. Which meant this was serious. He grumbled under his breath. It looked like he was stuck here.<p>

Curling under the covers, he began to sort through his memories. '_Are these from Before?'_ he wondered, '_They must be, there's really no other explanation. Gods, no wonder I jumped in the Lethe. Those memories are horrid.'_

The demigod felt something tug on his cloth sanctuary, and suddenly he was shivering, blinking at the bright room. Now-lit torches covered in blue flames rested in elegant black sconces, illuminating the room. Rubbing his eyes, he peered at the silhouette in front of him, recognizing his father's chuckle, "You're not six feet under yet, Nico. Get up, we need to talk."

Nico yanked the sheets back up, muttering insults under his breath, but sat up anyway. It was a bad idea to disobey his father, a lesson he learned the first time he tried to experiment with his powers by himself. Unfortunately Alkippe hadn't told him that he was also a sort-of spy for his father. Anything that threatened Nico's well-being, like unsupervised shadow-travel training, Alkippe told his father. It annoyed Nico, but he understood that Alkippe didn't really have a choice. He was just glad his dear old dad hadn't ordered his horse to do more than that.

His father sat next to him on the bed, a concerned expression on his face, "What can you remember?"

Nico snorted, "I remember a conversation starting almost exactly like that 9 years ago." He said sarcastically. His father smiled faintly at that, but stayed silent. He tilted his head, scrunching his face up in thought, "I remember all the same things as before, and then some. I can remember making my sword for some reason, and I remember a girl, my sister I think. Bianca?"

His father nodded solemnly, "She was your sister, on your mother's side as well as mine. She died soon after you discovered you were demigods."

Nico hummed slightly before asking, "So what now?"

Hades sighed, "I suppose you should start making your way to one of the camps." Nico started to protest but his father cut him off. "I didn't expect for your few remaining memories to return to you so soon. I thought it wouldn't happen for another few years. You'll have a few minor changes in your personality now though, so it would be best if you went early to keep anyone from really noticing. I admit it was something I had been worried about had your memories returned when you were older."

Nico thought this over, head tilting, "I suppose you're right," he started slowly, considering the words on his tongue, "It's only a few months until my tenth birthday, so it isn't as if I wasn't preparing to go already." His brows furrowed, "but what about these personality changes?"

"You will probably regain a few of your past attitudes, but you are remarkably similar to how you were Before, though you are much more cheerful. At the least you'll have an older mindset, closer to that of a 13-14 year old rather than a 9 year old." Hades paused, and Nico narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"And at the most?" he asked.

His father grimaced, "At the most you will regain the insanity that had been overtaking you. But I highly doubt that will happen."

Nico felt a flicker of fear before his logic set in. If he was going to go off the deep end, he probably already would've started right? Comforting himself with that thought, he turned to less frightening matters, "So what was this you were saying about the camps?"

He felt a sense of foreboding as he watched his father make himself comfortable. Obviously this was going to be a long talk. He was proven right when his father opened his mouth.

"We'll have to decide which one you should go to first."

* * *

><p><strong>An:<strong> First off, sorry for any OOCness. My Hades is more positive than canon Hades, but that's only around the parts of his family he actually likes. Plus, he's had a lot of influence in raising Nico, which is a big no-no. On my account you can see my head-canon that explains why this makes him happy. Or you can live your life in ignorance. Second! Harry Potter reference! Still debating if wizards should have a showing or not, but this is sorta a 'they live in the same world' sorta thing, like a safety net. Plus it was perfect for setting up Blackjack's part. Which brings me to third. Blackjack's dead! It was getting wayyy too fluffy, so someone had to show up dead. Or undead, as it is.

On a completely different note, I'm moving soon! Again! Yay... not. Anyway, I probably won't have internet for awhile, so won't be able to update. If it ends up being an extended amount of time (like 2 months or something) you can look forward to several chapters being updated in a row. If not, well, you'll just have to deal with me and my slow writing. Any questions I will answer if I am able, and look forward to your comments! Again, constructive criticism is extremely welcomed! You don't even have to be nice about it as long as you've got a point!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Nico trudged grumpily through the forest, kicking small rocks and twigs around. He was looking for a nice clearing he could set up camp in, but so far he hadn't had any luck. _'Why in Hades did I have to go to the Greek camp? I could have just gone to the nice little Roman camp less than a state away, but nooooo. I have to trek cross-country to a stupid camp filled with stupid kids I don't even want to be around. I can't even ride Alkippe!'_ He knew why he had to come to the Greek camp first. Apparently, he hadn't really stuck around very long the first time around, and his father wanted him to learn about his Greek heritage. Not to mention that Hades refused to have him be trained in the ways of the legion; a child of Hades being so reliant on others? Never.

The young demigod sighed, _'Well, at least I'm allowed to shadow travel, otherwise this would've taken days.'_ In fact, he would have already been there, except he took a wrong turn and ended up in South America. He'd had to rest for a full day. That had been two days ago, and he'd set out four, almost five, days ago. He hadn't realized how easy it would be to get lost, but at least he found his way to New York. Shadow-travelling in that morning, he'd landed on the edge of the forest and had been able to make out the torch of Lady Liberty. He'd been walking all day though, and couldn't find any sort of trail or road anywhere. _'Where in New York do they have forests this big anyway?'_

He walked for another hour, watching the sun sink slowly until he paused suddenly. Was that? Yes! There it was! Nico grinned as he heard the unmistakable ring of metal against metal. He picked up his speed and jogged in the direction of the noise. It only took him a few minutes before he was pushing away a tree branch to see into a clearing that was teeming with life. There were about 15-20 kids running around in and out of a large cave, all of them covered in grease. Children of Hephaestus.

Nico spotted one kid much older than the others, more of a man really, who was making the clanging that had led him here. The man looked to be in his early twenties, with curly hair and warm brown eyes. He was wearing a pair of brown leather pants, suspenders, and a shirt that looked like it used to be white, but had since been covered in grease. A large, jagged scar spread from his neck and under his shirt where it continued down the length of upper arm. He was working on a sword, holding a ball of flames in his hand while trying to straighten out the blade.

Nico couldn't shake the feeling that he knew this man, and for all he knew, he might've. The guy was definitely old enough. Deciding to think on it later, Nico walked into the clearing and let the tree branch fall back behind him with a loud _snap!_

The son of Hades quickly found himself on the wrong end of several swords, including the half-bent one the guy had been working on. Raising an eyebrow, he asked sardonically, "Is this really the welcome you give all demigods?" He so was not in the mood for this.

Most of the kids looked uncertain and kept looking back at the old kid until he finally stepped forward, half-bent sword still raised. "Who are you?"

Instead of answering, Nico leant against the tree and made himself comfortable, as if there weren't over a dozen swords pointed at him. "You know, usually people introduce themselves first." He said casually.

Most of the younger kids gaped, but the older, more experienced ones narrowed their eyes at him. There was a pause while they evaluated him and vice versa. Eventually the old one lowered his sword and ran his fingers through his twisty hair, "I'm Leo Valdez, Head of the Hephaestus Cabin."

Nico pushed off the tree and swept into a mocking bow, "Nico di Angelo, son of Hades." He was prepared for the gasps from most of them, but he _really_ wasn't in the mood. Standing up straight, he let his annoyance and seep through as he questioned Valdez, "I know it's a big deal, but really, I've been walking all day and I know this is not how you're supposed to greet the newbies. So someone show me to my gods forsaken cabin already." Okay, so he more like ordered him, but he was tired.

Valdez quickly shook off his surprise, which Nico gave him a few points for, and told Nico to follow him, which he did. They were silent as they walked through the rest of the forest and onto the edge of a large camp. The first thing Nico saw was a campfire, and he felt a flare of intense pain go through him. If he were anyone else he would have doubled over, but being him he only stumbled a bit. Luckily it went away fairly quickly, but he made a mental note to avoid the campfire as much as possible.

Next, he saw the dining pavilion and the training area, complete with a climbing rock wall covered in lava. Then he was walking towards the cabins, which were lined up as a Ω. He spotted his cabin easily. There was a small porch, and the fencing looked a lot like his first crib had. Only, instead of interlocking finger bones, there were femurs, tibias, ulnas, and a few others all melted into each other. A skeletal hand lay outstretched on top of each. It was the perfect place to set a drink.

The cabin itself was pitch black, with two skeletal hands reaching out from the darkness to hold two brackets filled with green hellfire on either side of the door. A skull was inlaid over the door, two emeralds staring down at passersby instead of eyes. Nico loved it, and was heading towards it when he noticed Valdez still walking. Grumbling under his breath, he reluctantly kept following Hephaestus' son.

As they passed the cabins he caught a glimpse of a strawberry field before a light blue farmhouse overlooking the camp caught his attention. They walked straight up the porch and to the front door where Leo let himself him. Nico followed warily. The kid's silence was making his ADHD kick in, and he started noticing little things, like how the hallway to the left smelt like sickness and disinfectant. The infirmary.

They turned right, passing a couple of doors until Valdez found the one he was looking for and knocked. The door opened and they came face to face with another kid a bit younger than Nico. This one, a boy, had messy blonde hair and sharp sea green eyes; the necklace he was wearing had three beads. The kid smiled a lopsided grin and held out his hand, proudly introducing himself, "You must be new. I'm Jackson, Luke Jackson."

Nico got an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Nodding his head in acknowledgment, he curtly replied, "Nico." He didn't offer his hand.

Luke's eyes narrowed at him as he smiled far too cheerfully, "Welcome to camp then, you're probably here to talk to Chiron." The kid watched his face carefully, as if waiting for something. It just made him more uneasy.

Stepping through the doorway, he was completely unsurprised to meet the gaze of the centaur Chiron. He heard a huff of disappointment and smirked. That kid probably got his kicks from the newbies reactions. Too bad Nico got his from ruining expectations. Chiron looked at him funny for a moment, but then his eyes glazed over a bit and he smiled welcomingly. Looked like whatever his father had done was still working.

Nico briefly bowed his head respectfully to the centaur, "It's nice to meet you Chiron." His smirk widened at the surprised expressions on the trio's faces.

Chiron straightened up but kept smiling, "It seems you have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, but I don't know yours." His eyes searched his face, which Nico kept respectfully blank. It was one of the things he'd found out he could do; he could arrange his face into whatever expression he wanted, and he could keep it there. The same went for his tone of voice.

"I'm Nico di Angelo. My parents told me about you." He had decided to leave off the son of Hades bit until he was claimed.

"Ah, a legacy." Chiron smiled knowingly down at him, "I'm afraid you came to the wrong camp, Nico. The Roman camp takes in and trains all legacies into the legion. Camp Half-Blood is more centered on teaching demigods and how to control their powers."

Nico restrained his annoyance, keeping his face and voice formal and respectful, "I am a demigod, not a legacy, Chiron." Puzzlement appeared on the centaur's face, but Nico continued before he could ask questions. "I was told that there would be a place for me here; I've been walking all day and am quite tired."

Chiron nodded, smiling warmly again, "Of course, and unless your godly parent claims you tonight, there's a place for you in the Hermes cabin. Dinner is just about to start, and after that there is the nightly campfire, then bed." He gestured toward the blonde who, for some reason Nico didn't know, was still there. "Luke can show you around."

With that, he was dismissed. He noticed Valdez stay behind as he followed Jackson back outside. A thought flitted through his mind that they were probably talking about him, but he shrugged it off. It was expected, even if it still bothered him a bit. Luckily, or unluckily, Jackson startled him out of his thoughts by talking.

"So," he started, "You'll find that there are really two groups of kids here, those on the in and those on the out. Who you're parents are can affect that, like Hypnos' kids. Most of them are out, but only cuz' they're never seen outside of meals. My parents are Percy and Annabeth Jackson, so I'm always on the in unless I do something stupid."

Nico glanced at his guide, feeling confused. "Chiron said the Romans deal with the legacies."

Jackson awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, "Normally yeah, but because of who my parents are I get a free pass."

Nico was about to comment on that when a girl ran up to him. She had straight black hair and grey eyes hidden behind a bulky pair of bronze framed glasses. He felt another, stronger jolt of uneasiness. Jackson beamed at her, and then at him, "Nico, this is my twin sister, Zoe. Zoe, this is the new demigod, Nico."

The girl held out her hand, but he repeated his earlier actions and nodded politely to her. Another thing that had changed, he had a greater aversion to touch than before, and was likely to attack anyone who surprised him. He was looking forward to that. "I'm Nico di Angelo." He flicked his eyes over her before dismissing her. She had the body of a fighter, but she walked awkwardly, as if uncomfortable in her body. He knew he could easily beat her.

"Zoe Jackson." She withdrew her hand and started talking to her brother. They both started to ignore him, and Nico mentally groaned; now he was going to have to refer to them by their first names! A bell started to ring a minute later, pulling Nico from his thoughts and the twins from whatever they had been talking about. He hadn't bothered to pay attention.

Luke reached out to grab his arm but he pulled away quickly. The kid huffed angrily, "That was the dinner bell, come on." The twins walked away with Nico following, a bit smug that he'd ruffled his feathers. He didn't know why he felt so uneasy around the twins, but it made him want to get to them as much as they got to him.

When they arrived at the dining pavilion, the entire Hephaestus table started whispering to each other. Everyone else glanced up at the newbie and went back to eating. It looked like they hadn't said anything yet then. Luke pointed him to an overcrowded table and disappeared.

Nico trudged up to the fire after getting his food. He'd gotten one of his father's favorites. Scraping over half of it off, he quietly muttered, "Hades." Unfortunately, he didn't speak quietly enough; the guy behind him gave him a funny look. Nico glared back.

He sat on the very edge of the Hermes table, as far away from the others as possible. There was still less than a foot between him and the next person. He struggled his way through dinner, wishing the entire time that his father had already claimed him so he could sit at his own, empty table. Eventually everyone started clearing out and Nico followed gladly. Until he realized they were heading to the campfire.

Pain flared through him again, but he was prepared for it this time. He stiffly sat on a log near the back of the campfire. And was glad he had a moment later. Closer to the fire, near the front, was Luke and Zoe with who he assumed were 'in' kids. They were laughing loudly at a young daughter of Hephaestus who had had half her hair burnt off. The girl was trying valiantly not to cry, and couldn't have been older than 7. He made a mental note to stay away from the 'in' kids.

Chiron showed up just then. The flames reared behind him as he smiled down at all of them, "Today," he started kindly, "Two new demigods arrived, Clara Lovegood and Nico di Angelo. Could the two of you please make your way to the front?"

Nico groaned; he was way too tired for this. Begrudgingly, he stood and made his way to the front along with the other girl. Clara Lovegood had blonde, almost white, hair and a dreamy look in her blue eyes. They stood next to each other beside Chiron. She smiled airily at him, and he nodded to her.

Suddenly, a glow came from above her head and everyone looked to the insignia of Apollo. Less than a dozen kids cheered from their corner of the campfire and Clara floated her way over to them. Nico was about to make his way to the back again when the fire turned pitch-black and a figure emerged from it.

Nico was the first to kneel, Chiron the second. Everyone else quickly followed. Hades' velvety voice spread across them chidingly, "Stand, my son. You know you do not need to kneel before me."

Everyone except for Chiron, Hephaestus' kids, and, oddly enough, Clara, gaped at him as he stood. He shot his father an annoyed look that was ruined by the small smile that overtook his face, "So much for subtlety then."

His father gazed fondly at him as his insignia glowed above Nico's head, "Yes, well, certain someone's couldn't wait to see you, I'm afraid." A small smile escaped him, and everyone gaped at the god. He raised an unimpressed eyebrow to them while the shadows morphed by his feet. A moment later two animals appeared, though only the elder could see both.

Nico grinned, "Alkippe! Tyche, Fortuna!" He opened his arms and laughed quietly as he was plowed over by his two-headed dog. Tyche and Fortuna were about the size of a small car, and still growing.

He heard Alkippe's voice, _"We were starting to get worried, Nico. You took longer than expected."_

Uncaring for the moment that he looked a bit crazy, he answered the unasked question, "I took a wrong turn to South America and had to rest for a day before I could travel again."

His father nodded, amusement in his eyes though his face remained blank, "Next time, take your dog with you. They barked Persephone halfway to the grave. It was quite the sight." Nico smirked, but said nothing. His father continued more somberly, "I must leave, some British people are making a fuss. Enjoy camp, Nico, and trust your instincts."

Nico nodded seriously, "Always, father."

And Hades was gone, leaving behind many pale-faced, still kneeling campers, a two headed dog, and a thestral. Chiron's voice rang through the silence, "Hail, Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, ruler of the Underworld."

Everyone stood a moment later, though they all continued to gape at him. No one clapped or cheered for him, but he was expecting that. Eventually Chiron spoke again, "Leo Valdez can show you to your cabin, Nico. Your thestral and dog can sleep in the stables."

Nico shook his head quickly, "That won't work. Even if I was okay with it, neither of them can be around those animals. Their auras would terrify the other animals to death. And I don't say that figuratively. Alkippe can take care of himself, and Tyche and Fortuna will stay with me."

Chiron frowned at him, but didn't argue. Valdez approached him, leaving behind the young girl he had been comforting who had been laughed at earlier. Nico gave him a few more points for that and followed him away from the fire, now a barely a few flames curling around the logs. He didn't mention that he knew the way already. With his luck, and how tired he was, he would wander into the wrong cabin.

Valdez paused in front of the black cabin, gesturing to the emerald-eyed skull on the door, "Here you are," He started to turn away but hesitated, "and good luck." He spoke quietly, and Nico almost didn't hear him. But before he could question him, Valdez was walking swiftly back towards the fire.

The son of Hades watched him disappear, pondering on if he'd found a potential… friend? ally? or not. Putting it to the back of his mind, he entered his cabin and gasped at what he saw. One wall was made entirely of skulls, each one with a different shade of green jewel glittering from the eye sockets. The wall across from him was made of dark black earth. A fireplace of onyx stone was set into it, glowing with hellfire. The next was pitch black, with seven liquid streams flowing down the wall into crystal bowls that never filled; liquid from each of the Rivers in the Underworld. Stepping into the room, he turned to find the doorway framed in Imperial gold. The wall itself was packed tightly with every sort of precious stone imaginable.

There were three beds on each side of the door. They were sunk a few feet into the ground, lined in Celestial bronze. Each had a silver colored pillow and silky black sheets. A carpet spread from the entryway to the front of the fire. Two black armchairs highlighted with emerald green sat next to the fireplace. A small azure blue dresser sat next to each bed-cubby.

Nico thought it was beautiful. He started to gather all the extra pillows from the other beds, lining his with them instead. Once he was satisfied, he paused briefly to whistle three sharp notes before climbing into it. Snuggling into the pillows, he was vaguely aware of the appearance of Tyche and Fortuna before he finally fell asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> So, I'm not really sure if Lady Liberty can be seen from the edge of the CHB forest, or even how far the forest actually goes, but let's just say it can. If it can't in canon, I am doing this without any way to check if it's right or not. If anyone sees any errors feel free to tell me and I'll fix it.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Nico woke screaming in the early hours of the morning. Curling into himself, he shook violently for several moments, listening to Tyche and Fortuna whimper at him. He couldn't remember what the dream had been about, but he would bet that it had been about Before. Anger flared through him, _'Why did I bother jumping in the Lethe if my past was going to haunt me anyway?'_ As quick as it came, his anger fled, and Nico sighed. '_Might as well get up, I'm not getting back to sleep now.'_ Pulling himself out of his cubby-hole, he rolled over to his dog. He snuggled into the warm fur and let their presence sooth him until his breathing evened and he stopped shaking.

Reluctantly, he got up and got dressed for the day, pulling on skinny jeans, a simple t-shirt, and a hoodie to keep the morning chill away, all black. He slipped on his boots, snatched his sword, and headed towards the training area he had seen before. The sun was just starting to lighten the edge of the sky. It had almost completely crested the horizon when another kid joined him.

The pudgy boy was younger than him by a few years at least. He had dark skin, and his hazel eyes were narrowed at the edge. Nico was about to dismiss him when the kid grinned, stuck out his hand, and said cheerfully, "Hello uncle! It's nice to meet you! I'm Po."

Nico startled so badly that he dropped his sword. As he scrambled to pick it up, the only reply he could come up with was, "Po?"

Po's grin, if possible, grew wider, "Yea, I turned into a panda a few minutes after I was born, and wouldn't change back for a week. So my parent's named me Po."

He decided to ask about the turning into a panda thing later, "I have a sister then? Weird, everyone seemed really surprised to see a kid of Hades."

Po rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Weeelllll, not really. I mean, technically she is. She's a daughter of Pluto. And Pluto and Hades are really just two sides of the same coin, right? Anyway, I was really excited to meet you, cuz any other family I have is from Mars, and they're really violent. They have a really bad sense of humor too."

Nico raised an eyebrow, wondering briefly what Po had done. He had a sudden urge to get to know the kid, and his father had said to listen to his instincts. He quickly shook the kid's hand, "Well, I like training personally, but I do a few other things too; there's a card game I like to play, it's called Mythomagic. I could teach you if you want. Who are your parents anyway? And how old are you?"

Po started jumping up and down in excitement, "I love Mythomagic! My dad plays it, and he taught it to me. My dad's Frank Zhang, and my mom's name is Hazel, I'm six, almost seven!"

Nico cringed a bit at the age; little kids were always way too hyper for him, ignoring the fact that technically he was one himself. But Po knew how to play Mythomagic, maybe it wouldn't be too horrible? He resigned himself to tolerating the energy all children except him seemed to have, _'Hopefully I don't disappoint.'_ Nico blinked rapidly, surprised. _'Where had that come from?'_

But before he could wonder on it more, Po turned into a rather large, black bird, let out an angry squawk, and flapped away. Nico stared after in puzzlement, confused at his sudden departure, until he heard the voices behind him. He recognized the voices of Zoe and Luke Jackson, and realized Po must be part of the 'out' crowd. Then he heard another voice, older, and more masculine.

Turning around, a small noise of pain escaped his throat and he stiffened. This pain was the worst he'd felt so far, and felt like his chest had become a freezer, slowly sucking all life from his lungs. It passed soon, but left behind a dull ache that Nico was just as painfully aware of. The cause was a man standing in front of him, who was staring at him in false concern. The man looked to be in his thirties, had black hair and sea green eyes. He spoke, his voice deep and rough, like how Nico imagined a sailor's might sound, or a pirate, "Are you okay?"

Nico replied stiffly, "Yes, I'm fine." He quickly offered an explanation, a half-truth, "I just pulled a bit on an old wound. I assume you're one of the parents of the twins?"

The man nodded, worry gone, and held out his hand, "Yea, I'm Percy Jackson."

He said it like that name should explain everything. And it did, sort of. Nico recognized it from the little he'd gotten Michael to tell him about his past life, and he'd gotten the feeling they'd fought together more than a few times. It didn't explain his emotions right now though, and he was starting to suspect Percy had a part, a big one, in his jumping in the Lethe.

He didn't shake his hand. His instincts were telling him not to, and his suspicions were agreeing. "It's nice to meet you."

Percy withdrew his hand in awkward, jerky movements, his surprise obvious at being rejected and at the cool tone in his voice. "Well, uh, it's nice that there's another kid of the Big Three on the Greek side. Now there's three for the Romans, and three for us. First time that's ever happened with the other aware of it, I'm sure. It's nice that the camps are united now, after the war." he rambled.

Nico's eyebrow twitched at the not-so-subtle attempt to bring attention to Percy's 'heroic' actions. According to his father, Percy was mostly just in the right place, at the right time, and got a lot of credit by proxy mostly. Sure, he'd helped some, but he was mostly muscle. Though he knew his father to be a bit biased about it, it was only a little.

Nico decided to dismiss them before he said something he'd regret. "Yea, well, it was nice meeting you, but I was in the middle of practicing, if you don't mind."

This was the wrong thing to say. Percy perked up immediately. "Practicing?" he questioned, "Why don't my Luke and Zoe help you out? They're the best in camp, for their age group." He said this with pride, even sticking his chest out a bit.

Nico looked at them dubiously, but agreed. He hadn't had a partner his own age before; he'd always fought with Michael.

Luke strutted over to the armory, all confidence, and Nico was reminded of a peacock. He grabbed a sword that was way too large for him, and got into a fighting stance. Nico picked his up from where he'd set it against the dummy when he'd been talking with Po.

Luke struck almost before Nico was able to get a grip on his sword. He raised his eyebrows in silent surprise at the cowardly move, but simply dodged and danced away, settling into a relaxed stance. Luke came at him again, swinging his sword in a wide arc. Nico lifted his, sliding the blades along on another, and twisted. Luke's sword went flying through the air, landing on the ground a good ten feet away.

Nico thought that was the end of it, and turned to say goodbye to the small family. He noticed a few more kids had gathered at the edge of the training field. He wasn't prepared for the hard punch to the side of his head while his back was turned.

His head snapped sideways, and Nico rolled his body with it, the way his dad had taught him to. Dropping into a roll, he stood a moment later, sword still in hand. He threw it to the side and readied himself again, seeing the surprised look on Luke's face. His eyebrow twitched again, but he spoke blandly, "I thought your father said you were the best fighter, not the best coward." Gasps were heard from the spectators, and Luke's face flushed red. He flew straight for him, and Nico neatly blocked his fist and kicked his leg out from under him. Pinning him with his arm behind his back, he pushed his face into the gravel, "You've lost, Jackson. Accept it."

Then someone was tackling Nico. He rolled in the dirt with his attacker and managed to push them off. Scrambling up, he saw Zoe and Luke both facing him. He narrowed his eyes, glancing at Percy's mildly encouraging face.

Zoe rushed at him first, and unlike her brother, she was actually half decent. Any awkwardness in her body vanished as she fought, and she moved like a dancer, albeit one taught by a subpar teacher. They exchanged dodges and landed blows, most of the latter on his part, and then Luke stepped in. The audience was much larger now. For the next ten minutes, Nico downed both twins several times, but both kept getting back up while he was pre-occupied with the other. But despite it being two on one, only a few glancing blows landed on Nico. However, the twins were going to be a mass of black and blue.

Finally Percy Jackson stepped in, "Enough, children, I think he's had enough."

Nico's lip curled angrily at the wording, as if _he_ was the one losing, and had to work to clear his face. The shadows thickened around him, but he reigned it in. "Why don't you fight me yourself then? Since your children are such cowards." He still spoke as if he were bored, which he was, but everyone could hear the edge in his voice.

Percy looked down at him condescendingly, "Only one person has ever beaten me in a fight, and he disappeared years ago. Besides, I'm not going to fight a nine year old."

Nico wanted to snap out that _he wasn't nine years old for Hades sake he was-_ he stopped, startled. What? He blanked his face, whistled two short, three long, notes to the air, and glared at Jackson. He spoke snidely, "I would expect the great and honorable Percy Jackson to teach his children how to fight a fair fight. Or even how to fight at all. I suppose I was wrong."

He heard the flapping of Alkippe's wings, and took in the scene around him. A good amount of camp had shown up, all of Ares' kids, most of Apollo's, Hermes' children, and others whose godly parent Nico wasn't sure of. He saw Valdez gazing sadly at the scene and shooting angry looks at the Jackson's. Chiron had showed up at some point, and Nico suspected that had Percy actually accepted the offer, he would have put a stop to it. He spotted Po in a tree, still in bird form, and nodded to him. Po squawked, ruffled his feathers, and looked away.

Nico felt a pang of pain, and realized he had somehow just become the most unwelcome kid at camp. Any hope he had for this place vanished, and he turned to Alkippe to hide the sudden wetness of his eyes.

_"Young Lord? Nico? Are you alright?"_ he heard Alkippe's worried voice.

He climbed between his wings and spoke emotionlessly, "I'm fine, Alkippe. Take me to father." He saw Jackson startle out of the corner of his eye and felt a small spark of satisfaction. Jackson couldn't hear his thestral.

Alkippe dipped his head once, recognizing the voice Nico used when he was upset. He spread his large, black, skeletal wings, flapped them once, twice, and then Nico was rising through the air. They soared close to the ground, towards the shadows of the forest. Then they were encased in shadows, and the campers watched them disappear.


End file.
